Coworker told me my passwords were way too simple

I used to use the same three passwords for everything until a guy in IT pulled me aside and said my accounts were basically unlocked doors. He showed me how fast a password cracker could break 'em and now I use a password manager and random 16-character strings instead. Has anyone else had a blunt wake-up call about their password habits?

3 comments

3 Comments

pat7811mo ago

Admit I got a wake-up call that felt like a cold shower. I used to use the same password for everything, including my email and bank. IT guy at my old job showed me a password cracker on my work computer and it broke my password in like 10 seconds. He just looked at me and said "you might as well leave your door wide open." Now I use a password manager and my passwords look like a cat walked across the keyboard. Still kinda miss the old days when I could just type "password123" and call it a day.

daniel_gonzalez1mo ago

Trust me I get why you'd miss the simple days but thinking a notebook is more secure than a manager is a little optimistic. If someone actually breaks into your house that notebook is right there in the drawer with all your keys. A password manager with two factor authentication at least gives you a fighting chance if something goes wrong online.

river9521mo ago

Gonna be the odd one out here and say password managers aren't the magic bullet everyone makes them out to be. I had one get compromised last year and it was a nightmare untangling everything. Those random 16 character strings are great until you're locked out because your manager glitched or you forgot your master password. I keep a mix now - some important accounts get unique ones I can actually remember using phrases or patterns, the rest get good enough passwords rotated every few months. The IT guy at my job acts like it's the end of the world, but a physical notebook in a locked drawer has never failed me.